Sacramento Kings: Why Trading DeMarcus Cousins Might Need To Happen
Why the Sacramento Kings might actually benefit from trading the cornerstone of their franchise, DeMarcus Cousins
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George Karl is a notorious winner in the NBA. The Sacramento Kings, as of late, have been the complete opposite of that.
And if the Kings do indeed want to turn a page in its franchise’s history and, more importantly, really hand over this team to Karl, than perhaps tearing down and rebuilding from scratch really does need to be in their immediate future.
Even if that does include trading DeMarcus Cousins.
Which, until a few days ago, didn’t seem like a logical option. Now, it does. Mostly because the Kings have not ruled it out as a possibility. And, after mulling over, kind of makes sense.
If Ty Lawson, according to reports, is one of the players that Karl wants to jumpstart the Kings’ new regime, one has to wonder if Cousins is one of them. Right now, we simply can’t make any assumption either way.
"[via Bleacher Report]Sources say Karl would love to acquire Ty Lawson—if the rebuilding Nuggets were to make him available—or any other members of his last Nuggets team, which won 57 games in 2012-13. Karl wants players who move the ball and push the tempo, and that could mean wild upheaval on the Kings roster. Even DeMarcus Cousins, their franchise center, is not untouchable, according to a source with insight into Karl’s thinking. “At the trade deadline, everyone was available,” the person said. Including Cousins? “Every single person (on the Kings roster) was available.” Although Karl does not hold a front office title, “he definitely has control” of future personnel decisions, the source said."
While the report only suggests that the Kings would be “willing” to trade Cousins, since everyone was and probably will continue to be available, it sounds like Karl has near complete control of what’s going on in Sacramento.
Sacramento Kings
If he doesn’t want Cousins to be the face of his era in Sacramento, he won’t — and he shouldn’t be. That’s what Karl has the rest of the season to decide, though.
As a head coach, Karl has only missed the playoffs three times in his career. Considering that he’s coached 25 years in the NBA, 26 including this season, that’s quite an impressive feat. Perhaps an even more impressive stat? The last time a Karl coached team finished under .500 was 1987.
Karl is a winner, and if he wants to build his own team, with his own players, in Sacramento, I don’t see why the Kings shouldn’t oblige. His résumé doesn’t lie. It’s certainly more impressive than anything the Kings have put on the court over the last decade, that’s for sure.
Even though it probably makes absolutely no sense to trade the best center in basketball, in the long run it could prove to pay dividends for the future of the Sacramento Kings.
Karl knows what he’s doing, Sacramento. Just give him the keys to the car and enjoy the ride.